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Tormented Humans
Background Humans were among the drow's traditional enemies and even after they had conquered the world, humans continued to be among their greatest enemies. Slavery played an important role in drow society, and many households had two or more slaves for each member. Half to two-third of a normal drow city's population consisted of slaves. All unskilled labor in drow cities was carried out by slaves, and for that reason slave trade was a booming business. Slaves were not only captured but also bred, or bought from sellers like the humans of Calimshan, Thay, and the Plain of Horses, and the orcs from the North. The drow didn't see slaves as a valuable commodity, but as a cheaply and easily replaceable tool that they were allowed to treat cruelly and exploit at will. Slaves, in general, were not allowed to look into the eyes of a drow or to carry weapons without permission (a rule that was mostly enforced when the slave was a gladiator of some kind). But over time They even started messing with interbreeding with scaly races trying to make them tougher and better fodder, when that seemed to fail they turned to pumping them full of poison so at least when eaten it may slow threats down, maybe even kill. But the real training came in when the Drow master would break down and build up the will of these slaves. Making them better prepared to resist the mindflayers, that are known to roam around the underdark. With so many slaves about it was inevitable that some would escape, or even rebel. The tormented humans that had escaped their drow masters collected in small, highly mobile groupings with the goals of helping more of their kind escape, making it to the surface, or just making drow lives as short and miserable as possible. Over time the drow began to avoid entire tunnel networks due to massive losses in attempting to reclaim slaves, the humans turning this tunnels into deathtrap wether or not any of them were in it. Physical Description The physical characteristics of those brought from the surface are widely varied, though a lack of sunlight quickly leads to paler skin and enlarged irises among most if not all subjects. Those born into slavery in the underdark carry on these traits and over generations start to more resemble the pale, dark haired colorations of fetchlings more than humans, though with the mortality rate these examples are few and far between. Those humans experimented on by the drow may have odd variations such as skin that glows faintly, completely black eyes or even extra digits on their hands and feet. Society Life in the underdark is often short and brutal, and this has largely shaped the societies that have formed there. A high level comradery exists between tormented humans, their shared pain and hatred for the drow making for easy allies. Very rarely do fights erupt between two or more human groups, and those most often over scarce resources. The fact that a human would much rather die than be taken back by the drow leaves little, if any, room for betrayal from within their ranks. More often than not any sort of double cross is the work of the dreaded mind flayers that also haunt the underdark. Tormented humans on the whole are often seen as dour or emotionally detached due to their experiences having hardened them to all but the most extreme of pain and horror. A particular habit of ‘trophy hunting’ is shared amongst the more militant human groups, where in the hunters in question show off strings of drow ears taken from their most recent outings and can gain high degrees of prestige over the number and quality of their trophy strings. Some camps will even trade supplies for such trophies, figuring that such quality hunters could put such things to better use. Relations Due to their harsh lifestyles tormented humans have ‘live and let live’ approach when dealing with other races. So long as their goals aren’t opposed, they see little reason to make their lives any harder than they have to be. Elves are the exception to this. Drow are often hunted down and killed on sight by tormented humans, the mere sight of them sparking fierce memories of pain and stirring hatred. Though the most intense hatred is reserved for the drow, other elves are not spared the scorn of the tormented humans. As far as they’re concerned all elves hold a great capacity for evil and sadism, and if they had the chance the ‘surface’ elves would put all other races under their heel just like the drow attempt to do in the underdark. While outright attacks on surface elves are rare, open threats and hostility is most certainly not. Alignment and Religion Tormented humans tend to lean more towards neutral, and even evil alignments, with only the rare individual keeping themselves to the path of good in the hell that is the underdark. Their capacity for law or chaos is most often dependant on which group or tribe they fell in with after escaping slavery. As far as religion goes many keep to the faiths that they had when captured, leading to cells of most any faith one can think of existing somewhere among one or more human camps. Among the more militant groups however the worship of deities associated with death and assassination are more commonplace. Pharasma and Norgorber in particular have large followings and the symbols of their faith are often left in the wake of attacks on the drow. Adventurers Those that manage to escape the underdark might find their new lives rather slow and boring, seeking the life of an adventurer instead to not only put their hard earned skills to good use and earn coin, but stave off the feeling that they should be doing something born of a lifetime of hard survival. Names Female Names: Alerdene, Alinza, Aula, Bach Hien, Belka, Beshkee, Chammady, Chao, Do Quyen, Eshe, Eudomia, Gerda, Hiriko, Ilinica, Indah, Ingirt, Izora, Jalket, Jayazi, Kaede, Kalizama, Kamshi, Lestari, Leyli, Marisan, Me’amesa, Meilin, Mirelinda, Mpaandi, Nalmida, Nanya, Narantuyaa, Ntisi, Pasara, Pontia, Que Xuan, Revhi, Runa, Sahba, Shirin, Shivkah, Sinkitah, Surenchinua, Udara, Umie, Valki, Waajida, Xemne, Xue, Zalika, Zova. Male Names: Aakif, Andrezi, Arasmes, Bahram, Baolo, Barid, Batsaikhan, Belor, Budi, Darvan, Dolok, Eilif, Garidan, Gellius, Hadzi, Hamengku, Harisko, Iacobus, Jaali, Jianguo, Kjell, Kousei, Kronug, Menas, Mitabu, Narsius, Nonek, Pateba, Pratavh, Qorchi, Ragnar, Rubani, Seckor, Shokamb, Shuo, Sunaki, Suryo, Tabansi, Teruawa, Thanh Liem, Toan Hao, Tomorbataar, Tuong Kinh, Ursion, Vachedi, Viorec, Yekskya, Zaiho, Zhen. Tormented Human Racial Traits (RP 14) * Ability Score Modifiers(2RP): Due to the flexible and varied nature of the tormented humans they gain a +2 to any two stats of their choice. * Humanoid(0RP): All tormented humans despite their deviation from baseline humanity are considered humanoid (humans). * Size(0RP): Tormented humans are medium sized creatures and thus receive no penalties due to their size. * Speed(1RP): Tormented humans have a base speed of 40 feet. * Sneaky(5RP): Due to a lifetime of stalking through underground caves and remaining silent, tormented humans gain a +4 racial bonus to stealth checks. * Bonus Feat (4RP): Tormented humans gain a bonus feat at 1st level. * Hatred(1RP): Those that escape their bonds hold a hatred for their captors that burns hot for the rest of their lives. Tormented humans gain a +1 to attack rolls against driders and or creatures of the Elven subtype. * Darkvision (120ft)(3RP): Those that hunt the drow have adapted to see the land as they do. Tormented humans have a darkvison of 120ft. * Light Blindness(-2RP): Even those tormented humans that have spent years on the surface find it hard to adapt to the light once more. Abrupt exposure to bright light blinds them for 1 round; on subsequent rounds, they are dazzled as long as they remain in the affected area. * Languages: Tormented humans begin play speaking common and elven. Tormented humans with high intelligence scores can choose from Undercommon, Abyssal, Infernal, Aboleth, Dark Folk, Goblin, and Orcish. Category:Race